U.S. patent application number 10/695370 was filed with the patent office on 2004-05-06 for connector with short interval arrangements of contacts.
This patent application is currently assigned to JAPAN AVIATION ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY, LIMITED. Invention is credited to Kubota, Yoshifumi, Kuroki, Yoshihide.
Application Number | 20040087188 10/695370 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32089565 |
Filed Date | 2004-05-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040087188 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kuroki, Yoshihide ; et
al. |
May 6, 2004 |
Connector with short interval arrangements of contacts
Abstract
A connector comprises contact pins, an insulator and a
supplementary insulator. Each of the contact pins comprises a
supported portion and a contact end. The insulator comprises
accommodation portions which accommodate the respective contact
pins. Each of the accommodation portions is provided with a
supporting portion which includes a supporting surface and supports
the supported portion of the corresponding contact pin. The
supplementary insulator is fixedly held by the insulator. At least
one part of the supported portion of the contact pin is placed
between the supporting surface and the supplementary insulator in a
Z-direction. Therefore, the supported portion always straightly
extends in a Y-direction so that the contact end can be surely
positioned at a predetermined position.
Inventors: |
Kuroki, Yoshihide; (Tokyo,
JP) ; Kubota, Yoshifumi; (Tokyo, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
WILLIAM COLLARD
COLLARD & ROE, P.C.
1077 NORTHERN BOULEVARD
ROSLYN
NY
11576
US
|
Assignee: |
JAPAN AVIATION ELECTRONICS
INDUSTRY, LIMITED
|
Family ID: |
32089565 |
Appl. No.: |
10/695370 |
Filed: |
October 28, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
439/43 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01R 12/716 20130101;
H01R 13/436 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
439/043 |
International
Class: |
H02B 001/056 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 31, 2002 |
JP |
317106/2002 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A connector comprising: a plurality of contact pins; an
insulator supporting the contact pins in a state arranged in a
first direction; each of the contact pins comprising a supported
portion which extends in a second direction perpendicular to the
first direction; the insulator comprising a plurality of
accommodation portions which accommodate the respective contact
pins, each of the accommodation portions being provided with a
supporting portion which supports the supported portion of the
corresponding contact pin, the supporting portion including a
supporting surface which receives the supported portion of the
corresponding contact pin in a third direction perpendicular to the
first and the second directions; and a supplementary insulator
fixedly held by the insulator and pushing at least one part of the
supported portion of each of the contact pins to the supporting
surface to hold the at least one part of the supported portion
between the supporting surface and the supplementary insulator.
2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein: each of the contact
pins further comprises a terminal end, a connecting portion and a
contact end; the supported portion has two ends; the terminal end
is connected to one end of the supported portion; and the
connecting portion extends from the other end of the supported
portion in a direction oblique to the second and the third
directions and connects the other end of the supported portion and
the contact end.
3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein each of the
supporting portions of the accommodation portions has sidewalls in
the first direction, and each of the supported portions of the
contact pins is formed with a press-fit portion which is engaged in
the sidewall of the supporting portion to fix the supported portion
of the contact pin within the supporting portion.
4. The connector according to claim 3, wherein the press-fit
portion is positioned nearer to the terminal end than to the
contact end.
5. The connector according to claim 1, wherein: the accommodation
portions are arranged in the first direction and each extends in
the second direction; the insulator is further formed with a hole
which extends in the first direction and communicates with the
accommodation portions in the third direction; the supplementary
insulator extends in the first direction; and the supplementary
insulator is partially fitted within the hole, while being in
contact with the supported portions of the contact pins.
6. The connector according to claim 5, wherein the hole
communicates an outside of the insulator with the accommodation
portions in the third direction.
7. The connector according to claim 6, wherein: the supplementary
insulator is comprised of a base portion and a plurality of
pressing portions; the pressing portions are arranged in the first
direction; and each of the pressing portions extends from the base
portion in the third direction and is fitted within the
corresponding accommodation portion to press at least one part of
the supported portion of the corresponding contact pin against the
supporting surface of the supporting portion of the corresponding
accommodation portion.
8. The connector according to claim 5, wherein the supplementary
insulator is provided with protrusions which are engaged in an
inner wall of the hole of the insulator so that the supplementary
insulator is partially press-fitted into the insulator.
9. The connector according to claim 1, wherein each of the
accommodation portions has a T-like shaped cross-section in a plane
perpendicular to the second direction, and the supporting portion
is wider than the other portion of the accommodation portion in the
first direction within the cross-section.
10. The connector according to claim 1, further comprising a shell
which surrounds the insulator, the contact pins and the
supplementary insulator.
11. The connector according to claim 10, wherein, the shell is
formed with mounting posts for fixing the connector on an
object.
12. A fabrication method of the connector according to claim 1,
comprising the steps of: tentatively inserting the contact pins
into the respective accommodation portions along the second
direction; fitting the supplementary insulator to the insulator to
press the supported portions against the supporting surfaces of the
respective accommodation portions; and further pressing the contact
pins into the respective accommodation portions along the second
direction so that the contact pins are completely inserted into the
respective accommodation portions.
Description
[0001] This application claims priority to prior Japanese patent
application JP 2002-317106, the disclosure of which is incorporated
herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:
[0002] This invention relates to a connector which comprises a
plurality of contact pins held by an insulator and arranged at
short intervals in the insulator.
[0003] Each contact pin is comprised of a supported portion
extending straightly, a contact end and a connecting portion
connecting the supported portion and the contact end. The supported
portion has a flat narrow plate like shape. The connecting portion
extends from the supported portion in a direction oblique to the
extending direction of the supported portion. The insulator is
formed with accommodation portions. The supported portion is
supported by the corresponding accommodation portion. In detail,
each accommodation portion has a T-like shaped cross-section in a
plane perpendicular to the extending direction of the supported
portion. The wider part of the accommodation portion holds and
supports the supported portion. With the above-mentioned structure,
the position of the contact end depends on the position of the
supported portion. In other words, depending on whether the
supported portion is surely and suitably supported by the
accommodation portion, the position of the contact end of the
contact pin is determined.
[0004] The short interval arrangements of the contact pins cause
one problem as to the positioning of the contact ends. Even if the
interval or pitch between the neighboring contact pins becomes
shorter, the width of the contact ends should be kept unchanged or
be changed with a very small change, as well as the wall thickness
between the neighboring accommodation portions because of
electrical and mechanical requirements. Therefore, as the interval
between the neighboring contact pins becomes shorter, the width of
the neighboring supported portions should become narrower as well
as the corresponding part of the accommodation portion. As a
result, it is difficult that the supported portion is surely
supported by the accommodation portion of the insulator.
[0005] Thus, there is a need for a connector which can surely
support the supported portion of each contact pin by the insulator
so that the contact end of the contact pin is positioned at its
suitable position.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:
[0006] It is therefore an object of the present invention to
provide a connector which can surely support contact pins and can
arrange their ends at their suitable positions.
[0007] According to the present invention, there is provided a
connector comprising a plurality of contact pins; an insulator
supporting the contact pins in a state arranged in a first
direction. Each of the contact pins comprises a supported portion
which extends in a second direction perpendicular to the first
direction. The insulator comprises a plurality of accommodation
portions which accommodate the respective contact pins. Each of the
accommodation portions is provided with a supporting portion which
supports the supported portion of the corresponding contact pin.
The supporting portion includes a supporting surface which receives
the supported portion of the corresponding contact pin in a third
direction perpendicular to the first and the second directions. The
connector further comprises a supplementary insulator fixedly held
by the insulator and pushing at least one part of the supported
portion of each of the contact pins to the supporting surface to
hold the at least one part of the supported portion between the
supporting surface and the supplementary insulator.
[0008] Preferred developments of the invention are defined in the
dependent claims and the method claim thereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:
[0009] FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an overview of an
application use of a connector according to one embodiment of the
present invention;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a front oblique view showing the connector of FIG.
1;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a rear oblique view showing the connector of FIG.
2;
[0012] FIG. 4 is an exploded, perspective view showing the
connector of FIG. 2;
[0013] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a contact pin included
in the connector of FIG. 2;
[0014] FIG. 6 is a bottom view showing an insulator included in the
connector of FIG. 2;
[0015] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the connector of
FIG. 2, taken along lines VII-VII;
[0016] FIG. 8 is a partial, cross-sectional view showing the
connector of FIG. 7, taken along lines VIII-VIII;
[0017] FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a supplementary
insulator included in the connector of FIG. 2;
[0018] FIG. 10 is a partial, cross-sectional view showing the
connector of FIG. 7, taken along lines X-X;
[0019] FIG. 11 is a partial, cross-sectional view showing the
connector of FIG. 7, taken along lines XI-XI;
[0020] FIG. 12 is a partial, cross-sectional view showing the
connector of FIG. 7, taken along lines XII-XII;
[0021] FIG. 13 is a partial, cross-sectional view showing the
connector of FIG. 7, taken along lines XIII-XIII;
[0022] FIG. 14 is a front view showing a mating connector which is
to be mated with the connector of FIG. 2;
[0023] FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view showing the connector of
FIG. 2 and the mating connector of FIG. 14 under the mated
state;
[0024] FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing a fabrication method
of the connector of FIG. 2;
[0025] FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view showing a process of the
fabrication method shown with a black arrow in FIG. 16; and
[0026] FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view showing another process of
the fabrication method shown with a hollow or white arrow in FIG.
16.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS:
[0027] With reference to FIG. 1, a connector 100 according to one
embodiment of the present invention is installed into a cradle 200
for a personal data assistant (PDA) or a mobile intelligent
terminal 300. The PDA 300 comprises a connector 400 as a mating
connector of the connector 100. When the PDA 300 is put on the
cradle 200, the connector 100 is mated with the mating connector
400.
[0028] With reference to FIGS. 2 to 4 and FIG. 7, the connector 100
comprises a plurality of contact pins 110, an insulator 130, a
supplementary insulator 150 and a shell 170. The insulator 130
holds the contact pins 110 in cooperation with the supplementary
insulator 150 so that the contact pins 110 are arranged in an
X-direction. The shell 170 covers the insulator 130 as well as the
contacts 110 and the supplementary insulator 150.
[0029] With reference to FIG. 5, each contact pin 110 is comprised
of a terminal end 111, a supported portion 112 formed with
press-fit portions 113, a connecting portion 114, and a contact end
115. The terminal end 111 has an L-like shape and is to be
connected to a signal line or a ground line of a circuit provided
in the cradle 200. The supported portion 112 straightly extends
from the terminal end 111 so that the supported portion 112 and the
terminal end 111 make an almost right angle. The supported portion
112 has a flat narrow plate like shape. As shown in FIG. 7, the
extending direction of the supported portion 112 is a Y-direction
under the assembled state of the connector 100. As shown in FIG. 5,
each press-fit portion 113 has a barb like shape and projects from
the corresponding side edge of the supported portion 112 in a
direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the supported
portion 112. In other words, the press-fit portion 113 projects in
the X-direction under the assembled state. The position of the
press-fit portion 113 is nearer to the terminal end 111 than to the
contact end 115. From an end of the supported portion 112 opposite
to the end connected to the terminal end 111, the connecting
portion 114 extends in a direction oblique to the extending
direction of the supported portion and the projecting direction of
the press-fit portion. The connecting portion 114 connects the
supported portion 112 and the contact end 115. The contact end 115
is a flared free end of the contact pin 110. The contact end 115
and the connecting portion 114 have a width narrower than the
supported portion 112 so that the contact pin 110 has shoulder
portions 112a as shown in an enlarged circle of FIG. 5.
[0030] With reference to FIGS. 6 to 8, the insulator 130 has a hole
131 and a plurality of accommodation portions 132. The hole 131
extends in the X-direction and communicates between the bottom
surface of the insulator 130 and the accommodation portions 132.
The accommodation portions 132 extend in the Y-direction and are
arranged in the X-direction.
[0031] As shown in FIG. 7, the insulator 130 has a front end 133
and a rear end 134 in the Y-direction. The front end 133 of the
insulator 130 is an open end and is provided with a receiving
portion 135 and a plurality of recesses 136 so that the front end
133 serves as an interface with the mating connector 400, as shown
in FIG. 15. The recesses 136 serve to receive the respective
contact ends 115 upon the mating of the connector 100 with the
mating connector 400. As shown in FIG. 7, the accommodation portion
132 extends from the rear end 134 of the insulator 130 to the
receiving portion 135 and the corresponding recess 136.
[0032] As shown in FIG. 8, the accommodation portion 132 generally
has a T-like shaped cross-section, except for its part directly
connected to the hole 131. The wider part of the T-like shaped
cross-section is a supporting portion 140 which supports the
supported portion 112 of the contact pin 110. The supporting
portion 140 has a supporting surface 141, which is perpendicular to
a Z-direction. The supporting portion 140 also has sidewalls 142,
in which the press-fit portions 113 are engaged upon the fitting of
the contact pins 110 to the insulator 130. Because the supporting
portion 140 is the wider part of the accommodation portion 132, the
sidewalls 142 are different, in the X-direction, from sidewalls of
the other portion of the accommodation portion 132 so that there
are steps 143 between the supporting portion 140 and the other
portion of the accommodation portion 132. The supporting surface
141 and the steps 143 receive the supported portion 112 of the
contact pin 110 so that the supported portion 112 is supported.
[0033] As shown in FIG. 13, the supporting portion 140 is wider
than the corresponding recess 136 in the X-direction, while the
other portion of the accommodation portion 132 is substantially
equal in size to the recess 136 in the X-direction. Basically, with
the structure, the shoulder portions 112a of the contact pin 110
are prevented from going beyond the boundary between the supporting
portion 140 and the recess 136 towards the recess 136. The
connecting portion 114 and the contact end 115 are accommodated in
the receiving portion 135 of the insulator 130.
[0034] As mentioned above, the short interval arrangements of the
contact pins cause the sizes of the steps 143 to become small.
Also, they cause the width of the supported portion 112 of each
contact pin 110 to become small. Therefore, it becomes difficult to
surely support the supported portion 112 by using only the
supporting portion 140 of the insulator 130. To assist the support,
the connector 100 according to the present embodiment uses the
supplementary insulator 150.
[0035] With reference to FIG. 9, the supplementary insulator 150 is
comprised of a base portion 151, a plurality of protrusions 152 and
a plurality of pressing portions 153. The base portion 151 is
generally a rectangular parallelepiped and extends in the
X-direction. The protrusions 152 are dowels in this embodiment and
are bulged in the Y-direction. Upon the fitting of the
supplementary insulator 150 to the insulator 130, the protrusions
152 are engaged in the inner wall of the hole 131 of the insulator
130 to fix the base portion 151 of the supplementary insulator 150
into the hole 131 of the insulator 130. The protrusions 152 may be
simply removed, and another fixing means may be adopted instead of
the protrusions 152.
[0036] The pressing portions 153 are arranged in the X-direction.
Each of the pressing portions 153 has a flat plate like shape and
extends from the base portion 151 in the Z-direction. As seen from
FIG. 7, when the base portion 151 is fixedly fitted within the hole
131 of the insulator 130, the pressing portions 153 are inserted
into the respective accommodation portions 132 to press the
respective supported portion 112 against the respective supporting
surfaces 141. In other words, each of the supported portions 112 is
partially placed between the corresponding pressing portion 153 and
the corresponding supporting surface 141 in the Z-direction, as
best shown in FIGS. 7 and 11.
[0037] In this embodiment, the supplementary insulator 150 is
positioned nearer to the front end 133 of the insulator 130 than
the press-fit portions 113 of the contact pins 110. As seen from
FIGS. 10 to 12, all of the supported portions 112 are surely
supported by the respective supporting portions 140. The connecting
portions 114 substantially extend in the same direction as each
other. Therefore, the contact ends 115 are positioned on the same
level as each other. The arrangements of the contact ends 115 make
a contribution to reliable electrical connections between the
contact pins 110 and other contact pins of the mating connector
400. The supplementary insulator 150 may be positioned around the
press-fit portions 113. Also, the supplementary insulator 150 may
be positioned nearer to the receiving portion 135 than the present
embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7.
[0038] The shell 170 covers the insulator 130 holding the contact
pins 110 and the supplementary insulator 150, except for the front
and the rear ends 133, 134 of the insulator 130 and a part of the
bottom surface of the insulator 130. The shell 170 is provided with
mounting posts 171, 172, which extend beyond the bottom surface of
the insulator 130 in the Z-direction. The mounting posts 171, 172
serve to fix the connector 100 to a substrate (not shown) provided
within the cradle 200. With this structure, the shell 170
electrically shields the connector 100 from noises.
[0039] With reference to FIGS. 14 and 15, the mating connector 400
has another insulator 410 and another set of contact pins 420. In
detail, the insulator 410 has a flat plate like shaped projection
412, which serves as a fitting portion to the connector 100 and is
received within the receiving portion 135 of the connector 100, as
shown in FIG. 15. The contact pins 420 are arranged in one surface
of the projection 412. Specifically, the contact pins 420 are
accommodated in grooves, respectively, which are formed in the
surface of the projection 412. As shown in FIG. 15, when the
connector 100 is mated with the mating connector 400, the contact
end 115 is brought into contact with the corresponding contact 420,
while being pressed in the Z-direction so that the corresponding
recess 136 accommodates the contact end 115.
[0040] With reference to FIGS. 16 to 18, the fabrication method of
the connector 100 will be explained now.
[0041] The contact pins 110 are tentatively inserted into the
respective accommodation portions 132 from the rear end 134 towards
the front end 133 along the Y-direction. However, the press-fit
portions 133 are still not inserted into the respective
accommodation portions 132, as shown in FIG. 17.
[0042] Under the state, the supplementary insulator 150 is fitted
within the insulator 130 so that the supported portions are
partially placed between the supplementary insulator 150 and the
respective supporting surfaces 141, as shown in FIG. 18. In other
words, the supplementary insulator 150 is inserted into the
insulator 130 along the Z-direction so that the supplementary
insulator 150 presses the supported portions 112 against the
respective supporting surfaces 141.
[0043] Then, the contact pins 110 are further pressed into the
respective accommodation portions 132 along the Y-direction until
the contact pins 110 are completely inserted into the respective
accommodation portions 132, as shown in FIG. 7. Upon the further
pressing of the contact pins 110, the supplementary insulator 150
serves to suitably guide the insertion of the contact pins 110.
Therefore, the supported portions 112 are positioned suitably.
* * * * *